Meeting Joyce Maynard
WILL HOCHMAN (hochman@uscolo.edu)
Thu, 17 Sep 1998 07:49:14 -0600 (MDT)
I'm disappointed that my post to her page isn't there--it was a long one I
wrote last night after driving 3 hours to Denver and back to hear the
author read. I'll try and recollect the event here as best I can, but
unlike Ms. Maynard, I don't pretend to trust my memory and perception, so
if I'm a bit fragmented or sound off-key, I'm sorry and tired and have
too much to do today to even be writing this...
Ms. Maynard is a phony pure and simple. The first thing she did before
beginning her book was complain that her book had been "reviewed" before
she wrote it...for those less savvy, she was actually complaining about
successful hype...she and her publisher not only did a good job of hyping
the book before it was written, but her home page will sell you the book
and send you a silly recipe and pretend to make you think Ms. Maynard is
this homey writer interested in cooking and parenting.
She's quite a sick person--I could see her spirit and I sat in the
front row with lenses made by Po Lo and Chiu-fang Kao. She explained
that the book she wrote was about her, not Mr. Salinger, and proceeded to
read all the stuff from her book that had been excerpted in VAnity Fair or
discussed in her reivews--from beginning to end of the reading of the
text, what she read had already been publicized and everything, yes,
everything she chose to read concerned "Jerry." She explained that her
daughter turning 18 helped her realize she should discuss what she never
could before, though she never mentioned how her daughter may feel about
her mom blabbing on and on about herself as though she were really
revealing great insights but really just selling second rate gossip.
In listening to Ms. Maynard read, it became increasingly clear her anger
at her alcoholoic father was focused on Mr. Salinger...probably then and
seemingly now. I enjoyed her reading voice but somewhere, I seemed to
remember an evil character in 101 Dalmations and wondered if she was
embodying that memory of a film I was when I as 7...but I don't trust
memory and hype its truth the way she does and I may have to see 101
Dalmations again...
After about 30 minutes of reading most of the Salinger stuff from her book
and nothing else, the author took questions. She had mentioned that she
was open to controversy and even welcomed venting. I was the second
question and tried to politiely ask about what she knew of what Salinger
was writing after he stopped publishing. She went into a tirade about how
her book was about her and all these people just want to know about "The
Great Writer," not "The Truth Woman." (This is her dichotomy in her her
phrasing!)
I stood my ground politely, asking
for permission to reply and explaining that she had read about salinger, I
learned about the manuscripts in the safe from her writing, and readers
can be interested in lots of things authors aren't...she apoloigized and
even let me discuss some more issues though I'm not clear aobut the
substance of them in my memory. I do remember her snipeing at me
about
worshipping the great man (happy scottie?) though I hadn't said anything
(maybe it was calling him "Mr. Salinger", eh?) and
knew Ms. Maynard had made me the Salinger straw man to vent her anger on
since so many critics had sliced and diced her. I stood up to her again
when she mentioned how rude Salinger was and how badly he acted toward her
readers since it was then she attacking beliefs about him...I simply told
her that she herself said she hadn't known anything about him for more
than 2 decades and on the page, where it really counts, he respects his
readers.
I didn't say it then but I'll say it know. On the page Ms. Maynard is
boring and so self-centered it's silly. After the reading, I explained
that I'm a Salinger scholar more interested in his writing than hers, but
not against any author publishing a book and agreeing that she has a right
to do that. I don't think Salinger has a right to prohibit her book, but
I do agree with his opinion that her writing is trivial and meaningless
gossip. Ms. Maynard did have the grace to apologize to me. I was aware
that her attack at me (not based on what I said) was probably the hazard
of a road trip with lots of readings and plenty of Salinger fans giving
her static. I told her if she really wanted to apoligize, she should
spend a little time on our list.
So as I drove the road home from Denver, I could barely hold the wheel
wishingfor a keyboard instead...I wrote a long post to her page and it's
not there now--complete with login instructions to our list--but maybe
it's slow to be served--we'll see.
Believe it or not, I wanted to like Ms. Maynard. For one thing, she's
web savvy and my age and that connects. For another, the only person with
eyes as big as her's I know is my wife--and we even share some New
Hampshire roots...and I wondered since so much press was so negative if
there wasn't more to it...but I've met a good number of authors and when
I'm using f2f to triangulate a sense of them, I've learned how dicey that
is enough to try and see what is "superlative" and not let the human stuff
stop my reading realities...but I saw a woman claiming feminism and
revelation (she now feels she wouldn't her daughter to take up with a 50
year old man...but doesn't seem to mind her daughter dealing with the
publicity of their difficult family history) for prose that is ultimately
boring and
so self centered it lacks the purpose she is claiming for it...and just as
her prose falls into itself pathetically, so does her persona...self
centered and not seeking intelligence (she still sounds like she doesn't
read much but I didn't get to ask what she and "Jerry" liked to read
between tv episodes...), Ms. Maynard may makes some good $ from her book,
but she hasn't made good words. Who knows, maybe someday her daughter
will write about her messed up mother...I'll probablyfrive too far for
that book too,
will